How to Give a Christian Testimony

How to Give a Christian testimony The Old and New Testaments are called that because they are written by authors who present their testimonies about what God has done in their lives. Those of us who believe are not believers because we were born into it, deceived, brainwashed, misguided, manipulated or stupid. We are believers because the Lord has made his existence and presence known to us. Each of us who believe are at some point tasked with giving our testimony. Our faith is not a blind faith, we are never asked to believe without evidence, the Apostle Paul says: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. – Romans 12:2 And then in Hebrews it tells us: Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. – Hebrews 11:1 So, if we are to test and approve God’s will and have an assurance about what we do not see our faith is not blind or without evidence. It’s just not evidence that can be shown to a person that doesn’t believe and our evidence is not physical any more than God has a physical body. There are lots of ways that God has at his disposal to make his presence known to us. Every Christian’s experience will be different because Christ meets us where we are; we don’t meet some standard, pass some test, carry special blood, or do anything at all. Christ chooses whom he chooses to reveal himself to (John 3:8; Romans 9:18). In my case, he gave me a series of dreams that showed me what will happen to me from the moment of his entering my life until he takes me home. Several of them have come to pass and I know where I am in the one that is running now. This is my evidence and, since the earlier ones have come to pass, I have no reason to think the rest will not. Couple this with other evidence that I have picked up along the way and I find my faith solid as a rock. The only way I have to describe the evidence of God in the world is that he works a lot like the wind. You don’t know where the wind comes from or where it’s going to (again, John 3:8). You can’t see the wind, it has no scent of its own, nor any body or borders to contain it. Yet you can feel it on your skin, hear it whoosh into your ears and see it move the leaves on the trees. So it is with God. I can see him move through people, rearrange situations, urge people into motion, and bring things where they need to be when only moments prior it seemed impossible. I know I am not the only believer out there that has testimony about what Jesus has done for them. In fact, I would venture to say that every believer has a testimony, or they wouldn’t be a believer. But having a testimony and sharing it are two different things. That, really, is what the bible is for. It’s not a book of instructions that we are to follow, rather, it’s a set of instructions to help you figure out what to do if you find the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in you. Hold on. Think about that one for a second. When I was an Atheist, I thought the bible was a set of rules for us to follow. If we didn’t, we would go to hell. As a Christian, my whole perspective on this has changed. It’s not a book of rules (though it can be if you make it that) but a guide to our faith. I learned through the bible itself that those who go to hell are not sent there by God but choose to go there instead of being with God. Also, if you think about it, when the Holy Spirit enters you it can be very disconcerting, confusing, and downright scary. Almighty God, who spoke the universe into existence, entered me and decided to stay? What? Exactly. So, it makes perfect sense that the Holy Spirit would guide the Apostles to leave us guidance, that’s what the New Testament is for. Then how do we explain to those who have never experienced Jesus what Jesus has done in our lives supernaturally? Well, the Apostle Paul gives us an outline that we can use to “plug and play” our experiences into in his letter to Titus: At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. – Titus 3:3-7 Did you see the outline? 1) How we sinned 2) What effect sin had on our lives 3) How Jesus saved us 4) Effect of salvation on our lives From this outline, whatever our lives looked like before Jesus got involved in our lives, how he saved us, and how Jesus has changed our lives for the better can be plugged in to flesh out our testimony. Now, I don’t want to get into the whole sharing the testimony in front of people, that would be a whole class, rather I am just talking about building the content of your testimony. You may not even be called to share it in front of a crowd, just to a friend or neighbor. But at least you should be able to put one together to share with someone. If you are called to share it in front of people, I encourage you to go to your pastor or teacher for advice. Let me share with you an example: I was once an Atheist; I didn’t believe in the existence of God. Then I had a problem with Jesus being Son of God and God (that runs into the doctrine of the trinity and will be addressed in a later sermon). I was a drug addict, a liar, a pornographer, and an adulterer. I wanted what I wanted, and I didn’t care how I got it. Then Jesus touched my life and saved me. I didn’t do anything for him to save me, I certainly didn’t deserve it and still don’t. Only his mercy and love for me saved me. His Holy Spirit took up residence in me and has been changing my life ever since. He has changed the way I see and think about life. He has turned my life around and taken it far further than I could have on my own. He has given my life meaning and purpose. I know I am saved. I know I am loved by Jesus. I know I am going to heaven and my own spirit longs to be there at home. I am so thankful and grateful to Jesus that I serve him with my very life. Why? Because he gave his very life for me. My own encouragement comes from the first letter to Timothy where Paul said: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. – 1 Timothy 1:15-16 I remember when I first became a disciple of Jesus Christ. I had a new testimony but had no idea what to say or how to say it. It took a while for me to get all this figured out and even longer before I came across the scripture in Titus with that handy outline. I hope and pray that by sharing this I have helped each of you who read this to streamline your testimony so that you will be ready in season and out of season to give others the reason for your hope and faith. Amen